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10/22/13

Our Adoption Profile Book & Film

Want to know what the most nerve racking thing to ever do? and by nerve racking I mean doubtful, indecisive, unsure, excited, hopeful, and then one more big scoop of unsureness just to make it nail biting. It's not jumping out of a plane, or going skydiving, or even walking with a lion, (which I've done by the way, another story, another time) as one would expect. Oh no, it's the simple but totally not simple task of making an Adoption Profile Book.

This single, little book is the deciding factor for a birth mom. She views them. Reads them. Chooses from them. And then decides that your family is the possible best fit for her child all based on 20 pages of images and text. This book is the gateway to our son. N to the ERVE racking. I labored over this baby for weeks and weeks. Some pages would be completely done and then the nerves set in and I'd completely redo it.

FINALLY, I was done & it was over and all the indecisiveness paid off. To me, it's perfect. Oh you know, besides the world "sunggle" instead of "snuggle" if you know me, you know that OF COURSE I'd have one tiny word slip all the peoples eyes who proof read it. Story of my life. Even so, it's still true to us. HA!

My inspiration came from a family drawing sweet Emily did for us after C
was born. I scanned in her drawings and used Photoshop to create the
individual pages. I then loaded these pages into BLURB software (it's
free and downloads right to your computer) and from there made and
ordered the book. If you aren't as tech savvy, you can create the entire
book inside BLURB software. It's so incredibly easy to navigate. I
planned to use my photography lab to have these printed, but because we
needed several copies, BLURB prices were more affordable, and not to mention
still amazing quality!

I absolutely love how it turned out. It's so us. So many of the profile books I viewed at our agency as examples were just too boring, and they really didn't represent the families personalities. I'm so thankful for Emily's drawings, because they were exactly what I needed to make our book pop, and hopefully stand out to the birth mom.

If you are an adoptive family viewing this for tips and tricks, here are my few suggestions:

-Start on this sucker weeks in advance. Trust me. You'll need it.
-Photos, Photos, Photos!!! Choose photos that tell a story!
-More images than text... I kinda didn't follow this own suggestion, even though I really tried.
-Use a design that really reflects your family verses just cute vector images or scrap book looks.
-Keep the book 20 pages or less. you don't want to overwhelm.
-Keep it crisp & use layouts. Collages of images can work, but make sure they is a layout to it.
-Use simple sentences and words. Keep it at a basic reading level.
-Don't use cookie cutter text. You can't tell, but we really let our personalities shine through our text, -Josh joked around a lot, and I wrote like I was talking to her in person.
-Use relevant photos. Showing images of years passed could be confusing to the birth mother. Let them see what your life is like NOW.

If you have any further questions, feel free to email me! My info is on my contact page.

&& I'll leave you with our adoption profile video. We are allowed to substitute a third image for our web profile with a video. We jumped on it! It's a chance for the birth mom to get an even better feel for what our family is like. I suggest asking a friend or even hiring a professional to shoot your video for you. Our friend and professional, Evan Logan, did ours. He did and incredible job. Just remember... MAKE IT YOU!!!

oh, and one last thing, if you are short on funds, you can check out my adoption giveaway HERE. It helped us raise $2400! Need more info, email me! I'm here to help!! Us adoptive mommas gotta unite:)

Your story is so beautiful and touching! Love y'alls love for the Lord and passion for adoption. I came across your instagram and can't tell you enough how adorable your family is. So happy for you and the blessings God's poured over y'all. I'm new to blogging but if you'd like to follow my little blog you're more than welcome! http://ohsweet-love.blogspot.com/

I just happened upon your adoption story and book while dreaming about the season that will be able to follow the Lord's call on my life to adopt. You have blessed me with your passion for the gospel and your obedience to His call. I want you to know that I am praying for you, your family, and your ministry of love. God bless you!

I ran across your adoption blog. Y'all seem like a very sweet couple that is going through the same excitement and struggles that we are right now. My husband and I are adopting domestically. I look forward to seeing how your story plays out! God bless! Audrey Www.theturneradoption.com

Loved seeing your profile book. A great example for others to see! Something I have never heard of was an online profile. Seems like a great way to reach out. Our adoptions were done with profile books but nothing online. :) God Bless You in this Journey. It is amazing how it stretches your heart.

I so love your heart, faith, simpleness, and genuine care for people. My husband and I have been trying to have a baby for a few years now. I could not agree more how important family is, let alone how vital God's family and church is to us. We are hoping to adopt domestically in the future, but are not sure where to start. I do not know how to raise money for an adoption, so any ideas would be great. I love what you have written about and what you two have done in your video. This is right up our alley (our meaning my husband and I), as we sell decorative Baby and Wedding Time Capsules meant to display and preserve precious milestone moments in your life, to be re-opened later. What a day it will be for your child to experience what life was like they year he was born. Thank you for being so bold in your faith and following God's calling on each of your lives. If you want, you can see our time capsules at www.timecapsule.com.